Wireframing, the cheapest debate-settling tool, low fidelity, high decision density.
Wireframing is the part of design that's about thinking, not making things look good. We use wireframes to make structural decisions before visual design happens, the layout, the hierarchy, the flow, so the polished design only has to solve the visual problem, not also the structural one.
What we build
Low-fidelity that stays low
Boxes and labels, not styled buttons. Greyscale, system fonts. The fidelity stays low on purpose so the team debates structure, not colour.
Flow-level before screen-level
First the user flow at the page-transition level; then per-screen wireframes within the flow. Decisions land bottom-up: the flow exists before the screen does.
Annotations that explain the why
Every meaningful choice on the wireframe has a one-line note explaining the trade-off. Engineering and PM read the wireframe and understand the reasoning, not just the outcome.
FigJam for the early shape work
When the wireframes are still being sketched, FigJam keeps it loose. The team contributes; the structure emerges. Once the shape is right, the wireframes move to Figma.
Print-ready for the offline whiteboard
Some decisions get made in person on a wall. Wireframes that print at A3 still legible. The whiteboard session has artifacts to refer back to, not just photos.
Throwaway by design
Wireframes aren't precursors to visual design; they're a separate artifact that gets thrown away when its job is done. The visual design references the decisions, not the file.
Where this fits
Your team is debating two design directions and you need to surface the structural difference before either gets polished.
Your designer is jumping straight to high-fidelity Figma and the team is anchoring on visuals before the flow is right.
You're scoping a new feature and need to settle the basic shape before estimating engineering.
Tech stack
- Figma
- Whimsical
- FigJam
- Sketching
Want this for your team?
30 minutes with a founder or senior engineer. We'll scope what you need and tell you straight whether Stacklane fits.
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